by Joyce Jordan
“You would have liked to be in bed with her. Yeah, yeah, so would we.”
“Mitch, you didn’t just say what I think I heard?” Rafe asked.
At Gabe’s snicker, Mitch grinned, realizing how his words had come out. “Well, not with Kelly. I have my own woman who keeps me occupied enough that I don’t have eyes for any other woman.”
“And you just didn’t spell out that you are sleeping with our sister, I hope?” Nate asked.
“She’s a sensual woman.”
“Okay, my bed is calling me,” Gabe said getting up. “You four can fight it over for the three remaining bedrooms.”
“Mitch gets the couch,” Manuel said walking towards the bedrooms.
“Why me?”
“Only because you dared give us graphic details of you and our sister having sex,” Nate said joining Manuel.
“And besides, you’ve roughed it out in the army before,” Rafe advised him. “This here,” he said patting the seat beside him. “Is like a feather bed, compared to whatever hard surfaces you’ve been on before.” He stood and followed his two brothers. He grabbed a pillow and a light blanket from the linen closet and threw them an Mitch, who caught them with his good reflexes.
He grinned and made his ‘feather bed’, then settled down for the short night. Short, depending on what time they finally woke up.
Thirteen
It had been a great fourth of July and Evelyn was finally relaxing in her relationship with Mitch. He wasn’t so bad after all. A bit over possessive, but not too bad really. She wanted to surprise him.
Hopefully she wouldn’t get to his office and find him off the premises. With him you could never tell, although he had said he was trying to add more responsibility to his second in command. Evelyn had yet to meet him. He had been on some long assignment somewhere, top secret, Mitch had said. After that she hadn’t questioned him.
She passed by Gina’s desk. It was empty. Strange. She was usually at her desk the few times she had stopped by. It was a little after lunch time, maybe she had taken a late lunch. Evelyn shrugged and saw that Mitch’s office door was ajar. She pushed it open and stood frozen in the doorway.
It was true. All men are dogs, she thought and turned away.
“Fuck, Evelyn…wait.” Mitch pushed Gina away and rushed towards Evelyn, but she had already disappeared and taken the elevator. He reached the doors as they closed and watched her hold the close button while he tried to push the button to call the elevator back to open it’s doors.
He had never been so frightened in his life. He watched tears slide down her cheeks and swore, hitting the wall hard with a tight fist.
He heard footsteps then a few seconds later some of his men joined him by the elevator and saw the huge dents already made by his fist. None of them said a word as he continued swearing. Finally he came to his senses and walked back to his office where he found Gina still in his office.
“Out,” he shouted and he was glad when someone dragged her out. He picked up the phone and told his men that manned the front desk do a lock down. “And get me Jack or Chuck. Make sure one of them is with Evelyn,” he said into the phone.
“Uh boss. She ran out of the door and both Jack and Chuck ran after her.”
Mitch swiped all the contents on his desk off, onto the floor, then hit the nearest wall. “I need everyone not on an active case to go looking out for her. Make sure she doesn’t come into any harm, and I don’t care what she says. Take her to my penthouse. Just keep her safe, okay?”
His men rushed out and Mitch wondered what he would do if she was harmed. He wouldn’t want to live at that point. Her brothers would surely kill him. And with his blessing too.
“Mitch,” Gordon said coming into his office. “What’s going on? I heard a scuffle and then saw some of the men running out of here.”
“It’s Evelyn,” he said and sat down in his chair. He gripped a pencil on his desk and broke it into two, then threw it on his desk. What he needed to do was break Gina’s neck.
Gordon took the seat opposite him and waited for his boss to tell him what he needed him to know.
“She was here a few minutes ago, and saw Gina kissing me.”
Gordon sighed. “And assumed you were into the kiss too?”
Mitch nodded his head and rubbed his forehead in frustration.
“What’s your plan, boss?”
Mitch hissed his frustration. “I need to go and find her. Problem is I have no idea where to start. She could be anyway, but one place she won’t be going back to is my penthouse.”
“Her house perhaps?”
“Or one of her brothers’ apartments.”
“She wouldn’t do anything stupid with that lunatic still on the loose would she?” Gordon asked.
“I doubt she’s thinking straight right now. And it’s all my fault,” he told Gordon.
Gordon raised his eyebrow at Mitch’s statement.
“When Gina kissed me, out of the blue. I froze. She’s Steve’s little sister and I never thought she could do something like that. Hell, she knows how I feel about Evelyn.”
“Mitch,” Gordon called out to him. “Everybody was aware of Gina’s feelings towards you except maybe yourself. “Even Steve warned her several months back not to do anything stupid. At the time Evelyn wasn’t even in the picture. And Gina had just been with the company six to eight weeks then. Didn’t you see how she followed you like a puppy?”
“Fuck,” Mitch said. “I thought she was just grateful for the job, and was being an efficient assistant.”
Gordon shook his head in the negative. “Where is she now?” he asked Mitch. “She wasn’t at her desk when I came in,” he commented.
“Don’t know and don’t care at the moment.” He stood up. “I need to go.”
“At least wash the blood off your hand,” Gordon cautioned Mitch.
Mitch looked down and was surprised to see the blood on his fist. Some of it had already dried. He walked into his bathroom and quickly washed his hand. He patted his hands dry and found Gordon pacing his office.
“Something wrong Gord?”
“Only that Gina is claiming you kissed her first,” he said with a grimace.
Mitch swore. “I don’t have time for Gina or her untrue stories. Just hold the fort while I try and get to Evelyn.” He strode out of the office and rode down the elevator, meeting some of his men who had clearly been waiting for him. “Any word?”
“Yes boss,” Luke said as he started walking beside Mitch. “Both Jack and Chuck caught her and Jack caught a cab with her. Chuck came back and followed them in his car.”
“Is she at the apartment then?”
“She refused to go there. The only place she agreed to go to was her house, so they are on the way there.”
“Why are we still here then?” he asked.
“August has the vehicle running outside,” he told him.
They rushed outside and Luke opened the door for Mitch, then ran to take the seat on the passenger side. August gunned down the car, already knowing that his destination was his boss’ girlfriend’s house. He had never been there, but he knew the address and had an idea of where it was. Besides the trusted GPS most new models had these days were a blessing.
Never having lived in a big town before, he was glad his boss had insisted that they all take extensive defensive driving training. Driving in New York was crazy even at the least busiest of times. He was glad this wasn’t peak hour yet. Although by the time they made it, it could well be.
Mitch saw Jack and Chuck sitting in their truck as August screeched to a halt right behind them. He appreciated his speed and was glad they hadn’t caught any traffic cops on the way over. He stepped out of the truck and went to meet Jack and Chuck who were already climbing out.
“Is she okay?” he asked.
“She didn’t come to any harm, but sorry boss, she refused to follow your instructions.” Jack stopped a few feet away wondering if they were in trouble fo
r not forcing the issue.
“What did she say?” he asked.
“She didn’t stop crying. I didn’t know what to do. If it weren’t for that…” Jack stopped not knowing what to say next.
“That’s okay. She can be hard headed. I understand,” he told them. “It’s my fault that she was crying.” He sighed and looked at her front door. “Anything else I need to know?”
“She won’t allow us in. Wouldn’t even allow us to search the house like usual. She just banged the door in our faces,” Chuck supplied.
“Thank you.” He walked to her door and knocked. He kept knocking but nobody answered. Mitch sighed and took out his phone and called her. He kept dialing but each time it rolled to her voicemail. “Evelyn!” he called out as he started knocking again. “Are you sure she’s still in there?” he asked getting worried.
“Oh, she’s there,” Jack replied and pointed to the two cars that had stopped at the end of her driveway.
“Gentlemen,” the first officer said as he walked up the driveway and stopped close to them. “What’s going on here?” he asked.
Mitch stepped up and held out his hand in greeting. “Mitch Sanders. I’m trying to talk to my girlfriend, but she’s not opening her door. I’m afraid that she might be in trouble.”
“Step aside,” he said to Mitch. “The owner called and said there was a disturbance going on on her property.”
Mitch shrugged and wondered what Evelyn was up to. She must be mad to have called the cops on them. Once she opened her door, he hoped to be able to talk to her and explain the small misunderstanding.
As the officer knocked on her door, Mitch saw two more cars stop by and then saw the number of neighbors that had come out to watch the show. He turned back as he heard her door opening and took a few more steps close to the door.
She didn’t even acknowledge him. “Thank you for coming,” he heard her say. Then she asked the officer to step inside and shut the door. They stood outside in the hot sun for the next seven minutes then the officer came out and called his partner. He hoped whatever misunderstanding had been there, had been straightened out.
“Mitch Sanders,” he heard the first cop call him. “Ms. Boyd claims you have been harrassing her for the past fifteen to twenty minutes. “You need to leave her property and stop all communication with her.” He turned to the other men. “The rest she said you can stay.”
Mitch lifted his hands in surrender and told them he understood. He walked off to the street and stood staring at her house. She needed to calm down, then he might have a chance to explain what she had seen.
He opened the door of the SUV as August reversed and came to a stop where he stood. Mitch stepped in and leaned back against the seat wondering how things had just skyrocketed from bad to worse. And in a matter of a couple of hours.
He needed to strategize and find a way to reach her. He tried her phone again and it went straight to voicemail. Had she really switched off her phone? He tried her landline, her business phone. It rang and was picked up by the machine. Mitch hung up and dialed again and again. Frustrated he dialed for the tenth time and this time left a long message, apologizing and asking for the chance to explain what she had seen.
Mitch was barely hanging up when he saw the black and whites return. Surely it couldn’t be the same officers? And she couldn’t have called them again. He was mistaken when he saw them come back from her door and walk over to his side of the door.
“Mr. Sanders, I’m sorry but we have to take you in,” the first officer said to him. “You were supposed to stop all communication with Ms. Boyd. She’s filing harrassment charges.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Mitch said stepping out. He looked at the officer with worry.
“Something must have happened, I’m not sure what it is. She’s adamant that we take you in and throw away the key.” He grinned at that. “Sorry,” he said as he became more professional. “I respect you and the men at Sanders Consulting. Have had the pleasure of working with some of them. But I’m afraid I have to take you to the station.”
Mitch shook his head and followed them to their squad car. “Call Gordon,” he said belatedly to his men as he ducked his head and got into the backseat.
∞∞∞∞
Tired of crying, Evelyn decided to take a shower and wash the morning remains of Mitch off her body. That surely sounded like a good plan. She switched plans and decided to take a bubble bath instead. She liberally poured the bubble bath and was satisfied with the amount of foam as she stepped inside. Surely all this soap would erase his scent?
She picked up the glass of wine she had been drinking. Her third full one since she had been home. Her stomach growled and she realized she needed to eat. It wouldn’t do to die of hunger while the cheating fool lived on.
Evelyn rose from the cooling water and rubbed herself dry. She froze when she walked into her closet and found it empty. She had forgotten that Mitch had packed all her clothes when she had agreed to temporarily move in with him.
She had no intention of leaving her house for the next few days. She knew he would be out in a matter of minutes, but hey, it had been satisfying to see him being taken away in a patrol car. Belatedly she thought how satisfying it would have been to have taken a picture and posted it on YouTube.
If only they could surely throw the key away. Had she been that stupid that he had been leading her along while busy fucking his secretary/assistant at the office? Had she been blind to Gina’s smiles the few times she had been in her presence? Gina probably pitied her, knowing that Mitch was just leading her along. But why would Gina tolerate her man being with another woman?
Whatever, Evelyn said to herself and dialed Ana’s phone. Next she placed an order for an early dinner. She pulled the curtain aside and scanned the driveway. Only Jack and Chuck were still there. The vehicle Mitch had come in hadn’t returned back yet. She had seen it following their boss as he was led off to jail.
She walked away and put her television on. She switched to the news channels hoping to catch some news of Mitch being led into the police station. Sometimes reporters loitered around police stations hoping to catch some worth news. Maybe she should have called a tip to one of the news stations. Except that they would probably hound her too. She put that thought aside and glanced up when she heard a knock on her door.
“Evelyn, it’s Lester.”
Evelyn sighed in relief and opened the door for Lester.
He looked at the towel on her head and the old robe she was wearing. She was having to resort to some old clothes that she had meant to donate and hadn’t gotten around to as yet. The rest of the clothes didn’t fit anymore. Only the t-shirts were wearable and only because they stretched.
“Are you expecting company?” he asked coming inside and shutting the door.
Evelyn smiled for the first time in more than four hours. “Not the kind you’re thinking of Lester. And thanks for coming so quickly,” she said and led him to her sitting room.
“What can I do for you? You said it was urgent and you didn’t want me to call your family. Meaning something is seriously wrong, I’m guessing.”
“It’s not the end of the world. I know they’ll find out soon enough, but by then I hope you’ll have carried my request through.”
“Go on,” he said.
Lester shook his head as Evelyn came to the end of her request. “Are you sure about this Evelyn?”
“Yes, Lester, I am.”
“How about you sleep on it and make your final decision tomorrow?”
Evelyn shook her hand. “No Lester,” she told him. “If you can’t do it then I can find someone else.”
“It’s not that I can’t do it…”
“Don’t want to then.”
“No, honey. You’re hurting right now and what you want to do…I just don’t want you to regret it later.”
“Lester…”
“Listen, Evelyn. I’ve known you for a long time. You’re family
to me. This guy is supplying a service to you.”
“I know that, but this is personal. Business is business and besides, it’s with my brother. That has nothing to do with me,” she told him.
“You’ve always been hard to sway once your mind was made up. It always drove your dad crazy.” He laughed, then he stood and turned back to her. “I’ll go and carry out your orders.”
“And remember, client-attorney privileges,” she warned him. “They better not hear about this from you.”
Lester sighed again and walked to the door. “My lips are sealed,” he said with a grin. He kissed her cheek then left.
Evelyn saw the pizza guy stop at the end of her drive way and stood in the doorway waiting for him. She saw him struggle with his packages and would have gone to help him, but she wasn’t really dressed for the outdoors. She opened the door wider when he came to a stop at the door and he walked in, placing the boxes on the table she pointed to. Evelyn paid him and asked him to give the gentlemen outside two of the boxes she held out to him.
She broke off two breadsticks and placed them on a plate with a slice of pizza. She was halfway into her second slice when the doorbell rang again. She thought she knew who it was and smiled as she heard the voices outside, then ran to open her door. Her four new friends walked in carrying bags of clothes. She smiled and hugged them tightly.
“Thanks for coming. And I’m sorry if I messed up any of your plans,” she said as she took some of the packages and peeked inside.
“I’m glad you called,” Ana said and returned her hug. “We’re practically family now. And besides, we’d have been hurt if we had heard the news on CNN instead.”
Stefano exploded in laughter. “It was hard getting rid of Manuel, so dish girlfriend. What did Mitch do?” he asked.
“Rafe was suspicious, but I hope he won’t get worried about my absence too soon.”
“I just told Nathaniel I had a late business meeting to attend.”
Evelyn laughed. “Let me change into something a little more comfortable.” She took the bags and told them to help themselves to the food sitting on the dining room table. She found a pair of light weight summer sweats and cut off the tags, then found a bag with lingerie and quickly pulled out a pair of panties and a bra. Feeling so much better, she walked back in and took a chair at the table.